Offermann Stadium was an outdoor

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Opened in 1924 as Bison Stadium, it was home to the Buffalo Bisons ( IL), Buffalo Bisons/Rangers ( NFL) and

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. Th ...

( NAL). The stadium hosted notable events including the Little World Series (1927) and Junior World Series (1933, 1936 and 1957). The venue also hosted summer

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

cards, most famously the 1930 bout between future

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

members Jimmy Slattery and Maxie Rosenbloom. The venue was demolished in 1961 and is now the site of Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.

History

Planning and construction

Bison Stadium was built on the former site of Buffalo Baseball Park for $265,000. The wooden grandstands from the prior venue, designed by famed architect Louise Blanchard Bethune, were preserved and incorporated into the new steel and concrete facility. The ballpark was built in the middle of a residential neighborhood on a rectangular block, and was known as a hitter's park because of its small dimensions.

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

member Tommy Lasorda described how the small dimensions of the venue were unfavorable to pitchers like himself in a May 1997 interview: Homeowners on Masten Avenue behind left field and Woodlawn Avenue behind right field erected wildcat bleachers on their rooftops, charging fans admission to watch games.

Opening and reception

The first event at the venue was a baseball game between the Buffalo Bisons and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

on April 30, 1924. John H. Meahl, commissioner of the Buffalo Parks Department, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The 1927 Bisons were recognized as one of The National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams of all time after amassing a 112–56 record, winning the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

championship, and appearing in the Little World Series. The Buffalo Bisons/Rangers of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

called the stadium home from 1924 to 1927, and again in 1929 before ceasing operations. During a June 1930

card at the venue, reigning NBA Light Heavyweight Champion Maxie Rosenbloom upset Jimmy Slattery to become undisputed champion, winning the NYSAC Light Heavyweight Title and vacant ''The Ring'' Light Heavyweight Title. The first night game in

history took place at the venue in July 1930, and saw the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

defeat the Buffalo Bisons 5–4. The Buffalo Bisons defeated the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series to win the

championship before a record crowd of 23,386 at the venue in September 1933. Luke Easter 1953

The venue was renamed to Offermann Stadium in 1935 following the death of Bisons owner Frank J. Offermann.

Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential ...

drew a record crowd of 25,000 for a

political rally Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...

in August 1936 to promote his candidacy in the

1936 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1936. In the midst of the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression, the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

. Ollie Carnegie of the Buffalo Bisons led the

in home runs in 1938 and 1939, and was named league MVP for the 1938 season. The

of the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

played at Offermann Stadium from 1951 to 1955.

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

was discovered while playing for the Clowns in 1952, and his contract was bought out by the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

for $10,000. Toni Stone signed with the Clowns in 1953 for $12,000, becoming the first woman to sign a professional baseball contract. Luke Easter of the Bisons became the first player to hit a home run over the venue's center field scoreboard on June 14, 1957. The Bisons would win the

championship that season, and Easter was named league MVP. The inaugural Buffalo Jazz Festival was held at the venue over two nights in August 1960, headlined by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

. The venue's final event was an

playoff game between the Buffalo Bisons and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

on September 17, 1960. The Bisons lost Game 4 of their best-of-seven series and were eliminated from the playoffs.

Closing and demolition

In January 1960, the City of Buffalo condemned Offermann Stadium and ordered its demolition. The stadium was demolished in 1961. Woodlawn Junior High School was built in its place, later becoming Buffalo Traditional School in 1977 and Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts in 2007. The closure left Buffalo with only one large stadium, Civic Stadium, which at the time had been operating as an auto racetrack. A hasty renovation removed the stadium's racetrack and refit the stadium for the Bisons baseball team as well as the incoming

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

; with the renovations, the venue became War Memorial Stadium and hosted the Bills until 1972 and the Bisons until 1970 (and again from 1979 until Pilot Field was finished in 1988). In August 2012, a historical marker was placed at the school in remembrance of the site's 72-year history of hosting

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

by Buffalo Sports Historian John Boutet of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Offermann Stadium

Bison Stadium
on

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

{{Defunct NFL stadiums 1924 establishments in New York (state) 1961 disestablishments in New York (state) American football venues in New York (state) Boxing venues in New York (state) Buffalo (1920s NFL teams) Buildings and structures demolished in 1961 Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct minor league baseball venues Defunct NFL venues Demolished music venues in the United States Demolished sports venues in New York (state) Defunct Negro league baseball venues Sports venues completed in 1924 Sports venues demolished in 1961 Sports venues in Buffalo, New York